East Cleveland boy with cerebral palsy beaten by other students

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East Cleveland boy with cerebral palsy beaten by other students

Friday, February 08, 2008

Mark PuentePlain Dealer Reporter

East Cleveland- A 12-year-old boy who has battled cerebral palsy and seizures his entire life couldn't fight back last week when three students attacked him after a tutoring session.

The sixth-grader felt pain in his groin after the attack and had to have a testicle removed the next day, his mother said.

East Cleveland police are investigating the attack, which happened Jan. 31 at Prospect

Detectives are waiting for a doctor to determine whether the beating caused the injury, Commander Dan Heglaw said.

Three sixth-graders - two boys and a girl - kicked the 12-year-old in the back and smacked him in the head about 5 p.m., an hour after school security left the building, police said.

School administrators suspended the three students and recommended two of them for expulsion, the boy's mother said. The Plain Dealer is not identifying the boy or his mother.

Superintendent Myrna Corley said the three children will receive harsh punishment if police determine they caused the injury.

"It's an unfortunate situation," Corley said.

The boy's mother said her son called her at work to tell her about the attack. She took him to a doctor, who called an ambulance that took him to Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, she said.

The boy is often targeted by other students because of his medical condition, a neurological disorder that impairs people's ability to control their movement and posture. He was struck by another student in November, his mother said. The school implemented a "no-bullying policy" after that attack, she said.

The 12-year-old, who enjoys playing guitar, returned to school Wednesday.

"He has a strong spirit," his mother said. "I am praying that kids stop bothering him."

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